Iran Slams ‘Worthless’ Statement by Some EP Members

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi says the Islamic Republic expects the European Parliament to deal with attempts aimed at disrupting constructive interaction based on mutual respect.

“A few members of the European Parliament, who are notorious for having links to some dissidents and the MKO terrorist group, have been trying to take advantage of their position to put forward untrue claims about the human rights situation in Iran.” said Qassemi.

“In continuation of its past actions, including its history of fabricating untrue figures, the MKO has, in a hypocritical move, published the names of certain European Parliament members as supporters of the aforesaid statement without their knowledge and signatures,” said the spokesman.

This comes as many of the active members of the European Parliament who are familiar with the developments in Iran and the region have consistently refused to support it because they are aware of the nature of this non-professional and immoral act, Qassemi added.

He said Iran considers the move as an effort to affect cooperation and interaction as well as growing relations between Tehran and European countries, which have brought about very constructive and positive results for both sides in all areas.

Qassemi said Iran condemns such psychological and propaganda ploys, and believes in constructive engagement with the European Parliament based on mutual respect in all areas of mutual interest, including promotion of bilateral ties, addressing environmental issues, war on drugs, human rights and fight against organized crimes, terrorism and human smuggling as well as other issues gripping the international community.

“Iran believes the issuance of such unfounded and invalid statements will tarnish the status and dignity of the European Parliament; therefore, Iran expects the European Parliament lawmakers to deal with the masterminds of such statements with sensitivity, thoughtfully and carefully,” he said.

“Undoubtedly, any move to impose the specific values of a country or region on other societies with different cultures and traditions amounts to an attempt to return to old and threadbare paradigms in international relations. We consider as invalid and worthless any such claims which are based on deception and improper suppositions,” he said.

He concluded by saying that Iran remains determined to fight the scourge of terrorism. The spokesman said Iran will not hesitate to firmly work towards eliminating the root causes of terrorism, insecurity and instability in the region.

To that end, Qassemi added, the Iranian Armed Forces, including the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will continue to incessantly fight terrorist and Takfiri currents in the region without paying attention to the ballyhoo raised by supporters of criminal terrorists.